S1 E2: Are Screens Breaking Kids' Brains?

Is a rise in screen time changing the way children's brains develop?Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Boston Children's Hospital Digital Wellness Lab, explains how the infant brain works and how it responds differently to online and offline activities.Pediatrician and clinical researcher Dr. John Hutton walks co-hosts Nicole Edwards and Taylor Owen through his research using MRI to study the effects of screen time on white matter in preschoolers.Finally, Dr. Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, Director of the Infant Language Laboratory at Temple University, explains why not all screen time is equal, and shares tools to help evaluate the quality of the content kids are consuming. FIND OUT MORE: Read the study by Kathy Hirsk-Pasek et al.: “How educational are ‘educational’ apps for young children? App store content analysis using the Four Pillars of Learning framework” https://kathyhirshpasek.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/How-educational-are-educational-apps-for-young-children-App-store-content-analysis-using-the-Four-Pillars-of-Learning-framework.pdf The Canadian Pediatric Society’s age-based recommendations for screen use: https://cps.ca/tools-outils/digital-media-and-screen-time Visit Common Sense Media for reviews of age-appropriate content, like apps, TV shows and books: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ Donate to TVO: http://tvo.org/give  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Om Podcasten

When the pandemic hit in 2020, it suddenly seemed like conspiracy theories were everywhere. Did Bill Gates put a microchip in the vaccine? Is the World Economic Forum trying to take over the world? Was the pandemic orchestrated by a secret cabal of elites?  A recent poll found that 1 in 4 Canadians believe in online conspiracy theories. Which means that we’re no longer just living in different information bubbles. We’re living in different realities.  On this season of Screen Time, Taylor Owen and Supriya Dwivedi dive into the murky world of online conspiracy theories and misinformation. They’ll expose the bad actors trying to distort the truth for personal gain, and speak to the Canadians occupying these alternate realities to try and understand how they got there – and how we might bring them back.  Hosts:  Taylor Owen is the Director of the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University, and is one of the country’s foremost experts on mis and disinformation.  Supriya Dwivedi spent years trying to fact check misinformation as a talk radio host. She’s now a political commentator, and the Director of Policy and Engagement for the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University.